February 2019 Board Meeting - 2018 Nutritious Food Basket Report (NFB) Information Report

Meeting Document Type
Information Report
2018 Nutritious Food Basket Report (NFB)

Prepared By:

Karen Bellemore, Public Health Nutritionist
Neil Mackenzie, Manager, Chronic Disease & Injury Prevention (CDIP)

Date:

February 28, 2019

Subject:

2018 Nutritious Food Basket Report (NFB)

Background

Household food insecurity occurs when food quality and/or quantity are compromised, typically associated with limited financial resources (Tarasuk, V. 2009), negatively influencing physical, mental, and social health (PROOF Food Insecurity Policy Research, 2018). In Windsor-Essex County nearly 11% (10.8%) of households and 27.4% of low-income households, self report being moderately or severely food insecure. Moreover, one in 10 (10.8%) adults state they are food insecure and nearly ten percent (9.7%) of Windsor-Essex County Children are reported to be food insecure (WECHU, 2016).

In the 2016 Community Needs Assessment conducted by WECHU, more than half of all survey respondents (54%) identified more affordable healthy food options as the top issue that needs to be addressed to improve the health of their family and/or community (WECHU, 2016).  That same report identifies the need to advocate for policies and built environment changes within WEC that make it easier for residents to make healthy choices, including improved access to affordable healthy foods.

As part of the new Population Health Assessment and Surveillance Protocol, 2018, under the modernized Ontario Public Health Standards (OPHS), boards of health are required to monitor food affordability at a local level. The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care provides guidance for determining the Nutritious Food Basket in its guidance document: Monitoring Food Affordability Reference Document, 2018 (MOHLTC, 2018).

The Windsor-Essex County Nutritious Food Basket (NFB) is a tool that allows for improved understanding of the Real Cost of Eating a basic nutritious diet for a reference family and those of different ages, gender, and physiological status (i.e., pregnant, breast feeding) within Windsor-Essex. 

Current Initiatives

Each year the WECHU releases its calculation for the Nutritious Food Basket. Food costing tools, such as the Nutritious Food Basket (MOHLTC, 2008), measure the cost of basic healthy eating representing current nutrition recommendations and average food purchasing patterns. Each year, over a two-week period in May, the WECHU’s Registered Dietitians (RD) survey nine different grocery stores within the city and county. Stores are selected following the NFB protocol, ensuring representation of all types of grocery stores (i.e., high-end, discount, community based). Using the NFB costing tool, the average cost of the lowest price available for 67 different food items is calculated. It is important to note that the NFB does not include items such as spices, sauces, condiments, processed and ready-to-eat foods, baby food and formula, personal hygiene, and cleaning products. Once the average price is determined, different income and family scenarios for our local community are calculated.

2018 Nutritious Food Basket Report

The cost of eating healthy in Windsor-Essex County decreased by $2.24 in 2018 from 2017, according to the 2018 Nutritious Food Basket Survey results. The cost of healthy eating for a family of four in Windsor-Essex is $194.04 per week. Although this is a small decrease in the cost of the basket, healthy eating is still unattainable for many in our community. For example, a family of four* on Ontario Works (OW) has an average monthly household income of $2,582. When rent and the cost of the Nutritious Food Basket are accounted for, the same family is left with only $706.81 to cover all other remaining expenses including utilities, transportation costs, medical expenses, clothing, etc. For a single male living on Ontario Works, the reality is much worse. After accounting for rent and the Nutritious Food Basket expenses, the individual may be left with no money at all to cover all remaining expenses.  See the Real Cost of Eating Well in Windsor-Essex report (appendix A) for more income scenarios.

According to the Community Needs Assessment report (2016), the proportion of individuals living in low-income households is greater in WEC compared to the provincial average. Poverty has a direct impact on an individual’s ability to access healthy food because when income is too low, people do not have enough money for rent, bills, and food. As such, oftentimes individuals will manage food insecurity through compromising quality and quantity of food as resources become scarce (ODPH, 2015).

The purpose of NFB data is to increase awareness about the cost of healthy eating in our community.  This data can be used to assist policy and decision makers to advocate for improved social assistance rates, living wage policies, more affordable housing policies, and accessible and affordable child care. All of which increase the likelihood that families and individuals will have enough income to afford to meet all of their fixed costs while having enough money available to meet their basic nutrition needs.

The table below shows the cost of a Nutritious Food Basket for a family of four* in Windsor-Essex County, per week, over the past five years.

 

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Cost of healthy eating in WEC

$188.04

$200.07

$203.03

$196.28

$194.04

Change from previous year ($)

$8.50

$12.03

$3.04

-$6.75

$-2.24

Change from previous year (%)

4.7%

6.4%

1.52%

-3.3%

-1.1%

*Family of four = a man and woman each aged 31 to 50 years; a boy, 14 to 18 years of age; and a girl, four to eight years old.

Nutritious Food Basket Usage and Dissemination

The NFB has been used as an essential local component in the calculation of the Windsor-Essex County Living Wage for 2018 and 2019.

The NFB will be disseminated to local social planners, anti-poverty advocates, Registered Dietitians, and other community partners who will benefit from using this data within their advocacy efforts.  

Appendices

  • Appendix A - The Real Cost of Eating Well in Windsor-Essex, 2018 Report
  • Appendix B – Food Security in Windsor-Essex

Consultation:

The following individuals were consulted in the preparation of this report:

  • Nicole Dupuis, Director of Health Promotion
  • Alicia Chan, Public Health Nutritionist
  • Heather Nadon, Public Health Nutritionist
  • Mariel Munoz Tayraco, Public Health Nutritionist
  • Jennifer Jacob, Public Health Nutritionist

Approved by:

Theresa Marentette, CEO

Appendix A - The Real Cost of Eating Well in Windsor-Essex, 2018 Report

Visit the report summary page.

References

  • Ministry of Health Promotion. Nutritious Food Basket Guidance Document. May 2010.
  • Ontario Dietitians in Public Health, Food Insecurity Workgroup. Position Statement on Responses to Food Insecurity. https://www.odph.ca/upload/membership/document/2016-02/position-statement-2015-final.pdf. Published November 2015.
  • PROOF Food Insecurity Policy Research. (2018). Retrieved from https://proof.utoronto.ca/  January 4, 2019.
  • Tarasuk V.  Health implications of food insecurity.  In Social Determinants of Health: Canadian Perspectives, 2nd ed. Raphael, D., Ed.; Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc.: Toronto, 2009; Chapter 14 Downloaded from the Web January 4, 2019
  • Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. (2016). Active Living and Healthy Eating in Windsor and Essex County. Windsor, Ontario.
  • Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (2016). Community Needs Assessment Report. Windsor, Ontario